Former Dr. Phillips WR Kenny Shaw wants to be a playmaker at FSU

April 11, 2011|By Coley Harvey, Orlando Sentinel

TALLAHASSEE — Two weeks ago, when Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher berated receivers for dropped passes, poorly run routes and a general lack of making plays, Orlando native Kenny Shaw and his fellow pass-catchers took the statements personally.

"We wanted to prove to him that we're the receivers he recruited and offered," Shaw said. "If you're on scholarship here, you're supposed to be a playmaker."

At Dr. Phillips, that's exactly what Shaw was. And at FSU, that's exactly what he hopes to remain.

Beginning his sophomore season with the Seminoles, the former four-star recruit is participating in spring practices for the first time. He has been thrown into the heat of the workouts, too, receiving numerous snaps with the first-teamers. As veteran Willie Haulstead recovers from an injury, Shaw has been mixed in with senior Bert Reed and fellow sophomore Jarred Haggins.

"It doesn't feel like this is my first (spring) since I'm in there rolling with the 1s," Shaw said. "The experience is good, though. It's only going to go up for me in the fall."

This time last year, Shaw was four months removed from an 11-1 high school season that ended with 46 passes seeing his hands for 732 yards. Nine receptions resulted in touchdowns.

During the nationally televised Under Armour All-American game that January, he announced his decision to become a Seminole by taking a garnet-colored FSU hat off a relative's head and plopping it on his own. Since then, he has been out to prove he belongs in Fisher's pro-style offense.

Last season, as a true freshman, Shaw caught three passes including one for a touchdown late in the 31-0 win over Wake Forest. To teammates, his play mimicked a player with far greater tenure.

"He's caught my eye since he stepped on campus," now former quarterback Christian Ponder told the Sentinel in September. "He runs probably the best routes on the team."

During Year 1, Shaw's objective was to showcase his knowledge about running clean routes. Year 2 is about establishing a strong rapport with new starting quarterback E.J. Manuel.

"I plan on spending the rest of spring progressing in the game, getting my connections down with E.J.," Shaw said. "That's working on signs, blitzes, pointing out coverages and all of that."

The pair connected well in last Saturday's scrimmage.

"Kenny got a lot of YAC — yards after the catch — yards," Manuel said. "He caught a couple of slants for touchdowns — which was huge for us."

Lake Howell LB impressive

Fisher also has been impressed with former Lake Howell standout Christian Jones.

The outside linebacker has been a statsheet staple this spring. During last Monday's scrimmage, he tied for a team-high eight tackles. With several top offensive linemen out with injuries, Jones has had a field day manuevering the inexperienced line and getting in the backfield.

Still, that doesn't diminish his work.

"He's really developing," Fisher said. "A lot of ability. A big guy who can play in space, too. Christian's got a chance to be a really good player and he's learning the little things everyday."

Early-enrollee playing

One of the young offensive linemen is early-enrollee Trey Pettis. The DeLand native is one of three early-enrollees on the line.